Honest Reviewing- How to write one

[Yadira22]

Hello All,

Hope you are well.

Since hosting we have had some great guests and some not as great but we have never had such messy ones from start and onwards.

The guest in question when booking, booked for one person and then during check in she informed me that her partner would be joining her. Obviously as she only registered herself as the only guest in the reservation I was concerned. I automatically informed Airbnb about this and mentioned that she would need to pay for the extra person. Being accommodating I also informed that we would be happy to arrange a full refund- mutual cancellation but she would need to instigate this. 

She went on to complain how she has never had this issue and does not understand how having an additional guest is an issue and how this is a new thing...😒 she then went to mention how £50 per couple per night is too expensive - considering we are in zone 2, London this is a bargain, especially as she has her own bathroom. 

Anyway- she decided to “look around” and found this was the case... and since paying this extra money she has been making it so hard.

- leaving the main door open 

- complaining about no hot water- we went 20 mins after and luckily as we had an engineer coming to do some regular check up he ensured that this was not the case.

- when ever they bathe they leave the floor soaking and 

 towels on the floor.

- They leave food on the table and stains despite having a segregated section in the fridge for their stuff... and cleaning after themselves is stated on our rules. 

- Today Sonia, our lovely cleaning person came and did her job and 2 hours after (when I arrived, it’s a mess again). 

Luckily we only have 2 days left of this and then they leave but how would you word such a review, without sounding “emotional” or like a spoilt child. Truth be told I don’t think she’ll give me a nice review but I want to be ready for when this day comes and I think our stats can handle this. 

Thank you in advance,

Yadi 🙂

[Gordon0 · Accepted solution]

We all *enjoy* guests like these once in a while, @Yadira22, but they're often best dealt with by sucking it up on the basis they'll be gone soon. 

My reviews for these types is usually something like 'X didn't seem to understand the concept and would be better suited to a hotel'. This is now common parlance in the Airbnb host crowd and shorthand for 'avoid like the plague'.

In the meantime, smile and wave, albeit through gritted teeth.  

[Yadira22]

Hi @Gordon0 

thank you for taking the time and actually answering, i really do appreciate it. 

I will definitely do this but my concern is whether less experienced hosts would not understand this sentiment. 

I sometimes wish we could put notes to future hosts when reviewing pasts guests. Which is shared upon the booking review process. Would be a somewhat more honest means than reviewing as most people don’t actually say all they would want in such a public forum as to not sound mean. Just an idea. 

Kindest regards,

Yadira 🙂

[Merlyn5]

Hi Yadira,

I just had to write a review for a very similar situation. I personally chose a different approach. I wanted to address the possibility of a negative review from my guest and also the opportunity to present my side of the story.  I manage remotely, have a keypad entry and have yet to meet any of my guests in person.  I stated just the facts. 'Guest booked as a single, verified that he had read my house rules and would be traveling alone and yet surveillance cameras captured two empty vehicles in the driveway.' This leaves no decoding or ambiguous  mixed messages to be deciphered by future hosts. Give them the facts and let them make their own decisions as to whether that is the type of guest they would like to host. 

[Momi0]

@Yadira22 @Merlyn5 @Liz582 @Gordon0 

Hello fellow hosts,

Ive been hosting for over 6 plus years now all while maintaining my Superhost status which hasn't been easy sometimes simply for the fact that I host IN MY HOME and have had the occasional guests come stay in our home that had no intentions of ever following our rules even though they were quite charming in their initial guests messages to me prior to booking.  Therefore, I have created a great way to write a review that I started back in 2017 which many hosts have now followed suit.  I even got a message from a host in Canada who received a booking request from a guests who had been hosted by me and she wrote me to say she loved the detailed review and would not be hosting that guests based on what I had written.   I actually put the categories IN MY REVIEW>  and I write 2-3 sentences about this category including the stars too.  Here's an example.  

Communication :  This guests received 3 STARS from me.  They were pretty good to respond to my questions and concerns during the booking process.  However, after checking in , they failed to communicate with me and my husband during their stay which is something we request (house rule) since we are a family with children that host in our home.  All we ask is that the guests send a message letting us know they are headed back to our home as a courtesy.  They failed to do this even once during their 3 night stay even after a friendly reminder. 

Hope this helps you all when you go to write your next review.  Sometimes, I will write a review that clearly states this guests is better suited for an Airbnb that is NOT in a home shared with the host family.  I state the facts and let the next hosts decide whats best for them.  For the most part, hosting in my home has been an outstanding experience, with my family tree growing from over 55 countries and 300 cities worldwide.  Most recently, I needed a home sitter/petsitter, and the first person I asked if they wanted the gig to enjoy a free Hawaiian vacation in our beautiful home for 30 days, was my 2017 FAVORITE guest from Canada and she couldn't say YES fast enough!  My dogs just adore her.  

[Liz582]

I have had a similar experience when my guest said she was bringing a dog , she persuaded me to waive my fee of 50£ but when the dog turned up 2 weeks into her stay it was an 8week old un housetrained puppy! I would never have accepted the booking in this case. 

Then she also tried to get money refunded by saying the place was dirty after refusing to allow my clean in after one clean in 6 weeks! Like you  I don’t think she’ll give me a nice review but I want to be ready for when this day comes and  like you I think our stats can handle this. 

Thank you in advance,